Group items tagged

K.CC.4 Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.

This activity could really be adapted for many different ability levels.  For less advanced children, you could keep it simple and focus on easy to identify elements of the house/classroom, such as doors.  For more advanced children, you could have them count things that would come to a fairly high number, such as books, for example.  This would give them more of a challenge and let them practice counting to higher numbers.  The activity lends itself naturally to ELLs because of it's use of a drawing of a house to signify what is being counted.

K.NS.3 - Observe living organisms, compare and contrast their characteristics, and ask questions about them

1.NS.3 - Describe objects in terms of the materials that compose them and in terms of their physical properties

2.NS.3 - Observe, ask questions about and describe how organisms change their forms and behaviors during their life cycles

If students are having trouble coming up with categories to classify the objects under, the teacher could offer suggestions or lead a group brainstorming activity to help the children think of something.  Like most group activities, I believe this activity naturally incorporates all learners and takes advantage of the group setting in order for students to learn from one another, not just the teacher.

K.MD.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.

K.MD.2 Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of" or "less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.

K.MD.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.

This activity looks like a lot of fun for young learners.  The activity itself should be good for all learners, but the paper at the end that students fill out to show what they have learned might give some students trouble.  I would emphasize using best guess spelling for this paper, and I would spell common words that students will use on the board.  If a student is really having trouble making letters or forming words, you could talk to that student individually and find out what they want to write for each blank, then copy it down for them with a highlighter or other light marker, and have the students trace what you have written with their pencils. K.NS.2 Conduct investigations that may happen over time as a class, in small groups, or independently. K.NS.6 Make and use simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses. 1.3.5 Observe and describe ways in which animals and plants depend on one another for survival.

Standard: MA.1.4 2000

C.C. Standard: K.G.1, K.G.2

ENL: Connecting symbols to real life objects is helpful for reinforcing ENL student vocabulary, and for helping them draw connections between geometric shapes and objects.

Expansion: Have students cut their pictures out of their chart, mix them up, and trade them with a friend.  Have their friend try to reorder the object pictures by the shapes they represent. 

This activity allows itself to adapt to all sorts of different learners, because it gives everyone a chance to work at their own pace.  For example, fast finishers can work to see how many colors they can find in nature and document those observations in their journals.  Slower students can be allowed to take their time and focus on one or two colors.  This is perfectly fine as long as everyone is learning and participating. K.NS.1=Use a scientific notebook to record predictions, questions and observations about data with pictures, numbers or in words K.NS.6=Make and use simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses.

This activity could be adapted for ELLs and special needs students by showing them on the board or overhead what the completed project should look like.  If they have difficulty reading, it could be hard to know where to put the different labels, but this would be much easier for them if they had an example to look at. K.3.1 Observe and draw physical features of common plants and animals. K.NS.6 Make and use simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses.

Standard: 1.3.1, K.3.1, K.3.2

Expansion: Have students record details about the bugs they find, or spend some time afterwards discussing how they knew what kind of insect was what.  

ESL: Repetition of vocabulary, visual links between real creatures and their names, and cooperative work will help students reinforce their English skills. 

C.C. Standard: 1.MD.1, K.MD.1, K.MD.2

Expansion: This could be done both inside and outside.  Students could begin with objects in their desks and discuss their comparisons with their peers, allowing for more communication.

ENL: ENL students can work with peers who can help them translate and understand description concepts.  Practicing describing vocabulary is useful not just for their math understanding, but for their understanding of English. 

1.NBT.3 Compare two two-digit numbers based on meanings of the tens and ones digits, recording the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, and <.

This activity is a great reinforcer for older students who struggle with the concept of greater than and less than, not just kindergarteners and first-graders.  The alligator analogy could really help struggling students to grasp this concept because it serves as a mnemonic device to help them to remember what the sign means.

This webpage has many great activities for winter math activities, and as a bonus, most of them have accommodations for lower or younger students as well as more advanced students.

K.2.3=Describe in words and pictures the changes in weather from month to month and season to season K.NS.3=Generate questions and make observations about natural processes.  This activity could be extended for special needs children by allowing them to explain to the teacher what they are thinking, and then the teacher could help the student express themselves through writing.  Kindergarteners don't know how to write very well yet, anyway, so they will probably need a lot of help and creative teachers to understand their written work.

Standard: K.CC.4, K.CC.5

Expansion: This game could be expanded to use a pair of dice which are added or subtracted to find the body-part number.  Dice with more than six sides could be used to make higher numbers.  

ENL: This activity teaches body-part vocabulary in addition to counting.